Sometime in 1971 a questionable Zodiac correspondence and cipher was received by the San Francisco Chronicle, postmarked Fairfield, California. This was now the fourth Zodiac related communication mailed from Fairfield, following the December 7th, December 11th and December 16th 1969 trinity. There is limited widespread information regarding this letter available on the internet other than the Zodiologists.com website, who have analyzed this correspondence in great detail. The letter and cipher is to be found using the Wayback Machine on Ed Neil's old website TheZodiacFiles.com. I have cleaned up the letter without altering any of the text by the author:

I'll DO IT TO BECAUSE I DONE IT 21 TIMES. I CAN'T STOP BECAUSE EACH ThAT I KILL MAKES IT WORSE AND I MUST KILL MORE. MAN IS ThE MOST PRIZED GAME. ILL NERVER GIVE MY NAME BECAUSE YOU dONT UNDERSTAND. NEXT TIME I WILL SEND A PATCH OF HUMAN SKIN if their is SOME Left OVER.

The 148 character cipher decodes to:"Tis the Zodiac Speacking. Why can't you stop me. I can't stop killing. Stop listening t(o) phonys. If this is not on your front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin". The wording in the letter "I'll do it to because I done it 21 times" is consistent with a mailing date sometime after the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' correspondence from Zodiac, claiming 17+ victims. Using a simple calculation we can estimate how often the Zodiac claimed a victim. From December 20th 1968 to July 26th 1970 Zodiac claimed 13 victims over 584 days. That is one victim every 44.9 days. Therefore, from victim 13 to 21, another 8 victims were claimed (8 X 44.9 = 359 days). Add 359 days to July 26th 1970 and we arrive at July 20th 1971, approximately four months after the 'Los Angeles' letter.

This letter and cipher appears at first glance a dubious Zodiac communication, but as Zodiologists.com point out, how difficult would it be for a hoaxer to mimic the ciphers or crosshairs of Zodiac. The fact the author failed to do this, should be pause for thought. There is also something about this letter that indicates the author had written another 'Zodiac' communication (or the author was the actual Bay Area murderer). The other communication, also mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 13th 1971, mirrored the 148 character cipher and letter in one crucial way - the victim total. The last two widely accepted Zodiac communications were the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter claiming 17+ victims, and the January 29th 1974 Exorcist letter claiming 37 victims. The author of the above correspondence had 19 victim totals to choose from (18 to 36), yet he chose 21, the exact total mentioned in the July 13th 1971 'Monticello' card, which featured in the San Francisco Police Department DNA report under "suspected Zodiac correspondence". Did the author of the above correspondence just get lucky, in accidentally choosing 21 victims like the 'Monticello' card, or was he the author of both?

The 'Monticello' card was mailed on July 13th 1971 stating: 'Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April'. By my rudimentary calculations the 148 character cipher and letter should have been mailed on July 20th 1971, only one week after the 'Monticello' card. If somebody can find the exact date of mailing regarding the 148 cipher and letter, or when this correspondence was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, it would be of immense value. The 'Monticello' card, by all accounts, was not published in the newspapers. If this were the case, then the victim total of 21, chosen by two independent authors looks extremely unlikely. If the 'Monticello' card was designated as "suspected Zodiac correspondence" by the San Francisco Police Department, then by extension, the above correspondence should be afforded the same value.

Denise Kathleen Anderson

THIS SECTION BELOW HAS NOW BEEN NEGATED BY A FUTURE ARTICLE, SHOWN HERE:

​Denise Kathleen Anderson (22), who resided in Sacramento, was last seen on April 13th 1971 by her roommates at approximately 05.30 am - and as of writing her disappearance still remains a mystery - although foul play is suspected. What occurred with Denise Kathleen Anderson after last being seen by her roommates is unknown, but her disappearance (and possible murder) again took place in Sacramento, near Interstate 80, only five months after the murder of Carol Beth Hilburn and exactly one month after the Zodiac 'Los Angeles' letter mailed on March 13th 1971, claiming 17+ victims. In this correspondence Zodiac stated "If the Blue Meannies are evere going to catch me, they had best get off their fat asses + do something. Because the longer they fiddle + fart around, the more slaves I will collect for my after life." The question is, was Denise Kathleen Anderson one of them?She disappeared on April 13th 1971, so the 'Monticello' card (with break added) could be referring to the possible murder of Denise Kathleen Anderson in the woods during April:'Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods. Dies April'.The 148 character cipher and letter stating "I'll do it to because I done it 21 times" could very well be confirmation that the victim he sought (possibly Denise Kathleen Anderson) had now been claimed.

What are the chances the 'Monticello' card was also mailed from Fairfield? Denise Kathleen Anderson lived in Sacramento, only 43 miles from Fairfield - but was she the 21st victim of the Zodiac Killer?

Interesting,Richard,that you should post the ''Z148'',and bring into focus,a possible ''buzz'' of activity,from the Zodiac....starting with the March 13th 1971,from Los Angeles,alluding to ''Riverside activity'',and including,the ''legendary'' Monticello card of July 13th !971,with the ''Z148'',by your calculations,perhaps a week later [?].

I call the Monticello card ''legendary'' since,by all accounts on documentation,it appears to be a ''confirmed''....and yet the authorities have yet to release it. [...w*nk*rs [?]...].

There is little doubt that the Heck brothers have solved the ''148'' correctly,but I keep it as a ''hobby'',since there is more,I believe,that it offers.

Some of the symbols employed,in the cipher text,although looking ''eccentric'',read well,in alphabetic terms,when viewed ''side on''.And,as a consequence,I have looked at further ''materialisations''

For example,''KIDS''= ''MILK''

Could be coincidences,but it's more an attempt,to understand,why ''Zodiac'' employed those eccentric symbols,in the first place [....or a copycat [?]...].

In addition,I surmised that ''Zodiac'' actually got fed up,writing out these eccentric symbols,and decided to write the rest of the [larger] cipher,as a solution.

So,perhaps more to this ''Z148'',than meets the eye,on first inspection [?].

[....of course,the ''408'' is larger,but it is incomplete..]

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 04:47:59 am

I added up the character count under the 148 cipher to 208 characters, making a total of 356 characters. That is 16 more than the 340 cipher. How do you get 361 characters? This correspondence certainly does add another layer to the Monticello card Rubislaw, especially because it must have been mailed about the same time. If the Monticello card was mailed from Fairfield, even better. May have another correspondence soon, which I have cleaned up - it may tie in with this 148 cipher and letter in some small way. Will post within the next week. You may probably be able to guess it?

Thanks for raising the point of an apparent contradiction,between 361 characters and 356,Richard.

More research checking,and get back to you on this apparent anomaly.

On initial checking,I see a difference,between ''I'll'' a ''I will''....and a difference,between ''their'' and ''there''.......and a difference between ''some'' and ''anything''.

I am going to have to go back,to possible ''varying'' sources of interpretation.

You might note,some debate over final interpretations,in the ''408''....and trying to understand,what exactly,the FBI decided on,as the ''official'' interpretation [?].

You may well have opened up a ''new'' topic :

FBI vs. Public [?].

[...and indeed,given away,an ''overspill'' of FBI cryptanalysis work over original material...].

Extra work.

Drew

11/29/2018 09:52:18 am

These are fascinating articles and possible connections over the last couple of days! I had not come across most these outlier letters or cases before so I don't have much to contribute but I will surely be keen to follow along with you and Rubislaw over this new line of investigation.

I have only one rather obvious observation to relay, and I am not sure whether for me it increases the Monticello authentication or not. The spelling/phrasing "Shought victim 21" reads as a play on the Pines Card "Sought victim 12". It is hard to imagine that was unintentional or coincidental but again, not sure what to conclude about it regarding possible hoaxer involvement. It could be argued that the LA Letter reiterated the term 'crackproof' to legitimize the contentious handwriting-free Pace Card, and that the Exorcist Letter's choice of the number 37 added weight to the unpublished Fairfield Letter's projection of 38, but I'm not sure that this Monticello reference of the Pines card phrase produces the same effect. Anyways thanks for somehow yet again illuminating a new corner of the Zodiac case for me!

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 10:55:47 am

Thanks Drew.
"Shought victim 21" reads as a play on the Pines Card "Sought victim 12".
Yes, definitely written with the Pines card in mind, only 4 months earlier. Assuming Denise Kathleen Anderson was abducted and murdered, then this would mirror the Donna Lass crime, as would "sought" and "shought". I wonder if any of the Monticello card was pasted upside down, for example: "in the woods".

Reply

Drew

11/29/2018 11:59:10 am

As Rubislaw has noted it is a mystery why this correspondence has not been made public. One could assume that it is because they did not view it as authentic and wished not to encourage what they interpreted as an increasing number of hoaxers. Did newspapers publish the quite dubious Dr Adams card? Perhaps they just decided to stop appeasing the serial killer in this manner, which they should have done much earlier in my estimation. Although the mirrored phrasing or text flipping could be a hoaxer's technique, if 'In the Woods' was presented upside down this missive would surely be more widely regarded as authentic. Combined with the Donna Lass case parallels perhaps they felt that publishing such a telling indicator as flipped text would just be feeding an unhelpful flame.

Do you think the publishing or refusal to publish Zodiac correspondences at this point had any effect on the Zodiac's claimed actions? Without knowing the true number of Zodiac letters or indeed hoax letters all we have is speculation. I think that if he had killed more than the canonical 5 that the Zodiac had chosen to stay his course regardless of the Chronicle's involvement.

Richard

11/29/2018 12:42:02 pm

The withholding of "by knife" on the car door may have forced the Fairfield "Bleeding Knife" correspondence. The withholding of the July 26th Mikado letter may have forced a repeat of the 13 total on the Pace card. Possibly the same for the April 20th bomb diagram, triggering the Dragon Card. So, I'm sure Zodiac was affected by refusal to print, hence his threats of more attacks to keep the Chronicle compliant. I actually don't know why the Chronicle didn't publish the 1st Fairfield letter, the Monticello card etc. Nowadays, sensation creates headlines, and headlines = increased circulation = money. I cannot believe they featured the Monticello card in the SFPD DNA report, however, it wasn't published by the newspapers. On the other hand, the 148 cipher and letter were published, yet this correspondence garners virtually no attention in Zodiac circles. It's extremely difficult to verify these pasted cards with limited handwriting, which is probably why they are the most widely disputed correspondence. Even though I reference handwriting similarity on occasion, I don't personally judge the authenticity of Zodiac correspondence on handwriting, more on the wording chosen. As the above correspondence shows - how difficult is it really to mimic the Zodiac crosshairs. It is child's play. So why would anybody dismiss this correspondence because of the discrepancy exhibited by the style of the crosshairs. The handwriting is equally easy to copy. Often, the more discrepancies I see in a dubious correspondence, the more likely I consider it genuine. If I were a Zodiac hoaxer back in 69-71, I would attempt to fashion my correspondence on known Zodiac material, not make it look completely different. The December 16th Fairfield letter is the best example - it would have been incredibly easy to draw 9 neat symbols similar to the 340 for any hoaxer. The fact this wasn't done, to me, lends weight to it being authentic Zodiac. Of course, a hoaxer could be playing a double bluff, but my impression is that copycats exist because they are unoriginal and would likely just mimic a previous correspondence in an attempt to convince and bathe in someone else's spotlight. Anyway, sorry for blabbing on.

Drew

11/29/2018 01:47:42 pm

Your babble is bang on Richard! Although the question of whether Zodiac killed or didn't based on the Chronicle's participation remains, you have given concrete examples of the Zodiac reacting to his media coverage, and likewise you made many salient points regarding the problems with denouncing the many outlier correspondences as amateurish failures to mimic the Zodiac. We have said the same about the Salem murder. These authors went to the trouble of creating and mailing why should we presume that they have not have made the simplest effort to research that which inspired them? I'd like to know if there really were hundred or thousands of such letters and if any of those closely examined were found to be suspiciously free of fingerprints or with a similar level of fingerprinting as the confirmed letters. I wonder how much consultation if any went on between the police and the Chronicle regarding decisions to comply with the Zodiac's demands. Now who's babbling?

Every time I look at that FBI DNA test list I wonder how they could write that the 78 letter is definitively not Zodiac and that Fairfield Dec 16 is not even listed. I don't know how much to read into the presumed conclusions of this FBI list but I am adding the inclusion of the Monticello card to my evaluation of its curiosities.

Richard

11/29/2018 02:33:15 pm

"whether Zodiac killed or didn't based on the Chronicle's participation".
I don't know about the entirety of the Zodiac case, but I have a strong suspicion Paul Stine would be alive today without the Chronicle and other newspapers coverage. The newspapers constantly referred to Zodiac as sexually repressed in some way, killing couples because of his own inadequacies in forming a relationship with a woman. The stabbing at Berryessa a form of sexual penetration. How the Zodiac killed the male first because of his fear, or vented the majority of his wrath on the women. Is it really beyond belief that Zodiac decided to abandon his murder of couples, choosing a single male in a built-up area such as San Francisco, in effect saying "don't profile me, I'll prove you wrong". The Zodiac responded to the newspapers via letter, so it isn't inconceivable he responded to them by murder, swapping the pen for punishment. That is why the October 18th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article stating "The killer of five who calls himself 'Zodiac' is a clumsy criminal, a liar and possibly a latent homosexual" is so incredibly stupid and unnecessary. Had a homosexual man been killed in the next few weeks by Zodiac, by him proving he had no empathy with homosexuals, the murder would have fell squarely on the Chronicle's shoulders. The fact that the murder of Paul Stine is less than clear cut, regarding cause and effect of their printed material, means they got a pass. Even I cannot be sure his murder was the result of any article they wrote, only that when you play with fire you get burnt.

Drew

11/29/2018 03:59:45 pm

I definitely agree that a lone male was likely targeted as a reaction to those reprehensible articles that appeared after the Lake Berryessa attack. Like the June 69 article that highlighted police bafflement over the Lake Herman Road murderer targeting presumed strangers, by engaging in such a discussion publicly one has to wonder whether such reporting encouraged the fiend to develop a character and proceed with confidence - they essentially outlined the prime directive for a serial killer seeking to elude detection. Prior to the letters that followed the Blue Rock Springs attack they clearly didn't know how integral the media would be to his MO, but they certainly knew afterwards and yet continued to play along, long after they called him on his '2 cops pulled a goof' and his first bomb threat bluffs.

Lori F

11/29/2018 10:12:26 am

Do you think the trailing pen at the end is significant? I don't remember seeing this in any confirmed Z letters.

And, are there symbols that are common to ciphers, or do most writers just create them on their own? Most of these certainly do not appear to be anything like Z used previously.

Thanks for this article Richard, and your comments Rubislaw.

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 10:48:19 am

The only time I can recall a trailing pen mark like this Lori, is from the last entry by Donna Lass on her workstation log at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, at 1:45 am when she disappeared. I cannot remember this from the authenticated Zodiac correspondence.

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 10:57:51 am

Harvey Hines is firmly of the conviction that Donna Lass was abducted from work, and there is a high probability that this is actually what happened. Donna Lass was a conscientious worker, described as very reliable. This allied to the dragged pen mark from her nurses log, seemed to suggest she was either physically assaulted here, or more likely lured from her work station on the ruse of an emergency in the car park, where she was likely abducted. The last person apparently to see Donna Lass before her disappearance was a Joan Bentley from San Francisco, who stated that Donna appeared in good spirits at approximately 1.40 am. The last entry on her log according to Mary Pilker was "patient complains of", before the pen trailed off.

Shawn

11/29/2018 02:28:50 pm

A list of letters that were tested for DNA by Cynde Holt back in 2003 is on the internet. I do not have a link as of this moment.

The list contains letters deemed as genuine letters (letters we know as genuine) plus the 1978 outlier letter I think.

Is Law Enforcement missing a chance to catch Zodiac by not testing these other outlier letters?

As a general comment on the cipher symbols,Lori F,yes Zodiac did start out,with similar symbols employed....save employing the odd new one,for each new cipher...possibly as a tool to catch our attention.

Then,depending on ones viewpoint,regarding authenticity,''he'' seems to have started using completely different symbols.Though,the 1990 Celebrity Cipher,sees a return,to his traditional symbol selections.

This ''contradiction'' between 356 characters and 361....may have ''amazing'' potential.

As may have noted,I referred to three ''crucifixes'' found,with horizontal spans,''BECAUSE''.

The first two,were crossed with '' O 2 A K I P '' and '' I T A C T S ''.

The third,didn't seem to make much sense [ '' M N A N A T '' ].

Well,as I have referred to,before...the conjecture that Zodiac may have been a product '' By Knife ''....a Caesarian birth [?].

Perhaps,the third crucifix ''should'' make sense,but is actually different to '' M N A N A N T '' [?].

Perhaps....the three crucifixes actually allude to the aneasthesia involved,in Zodiac's delivery,into this world [?] [!]

That,''By Knife'' and ''Anaesthesia'' were responsible for ''him''.

And,indeed the ''older brother gripe'' as a stillborn,might be the reason of a need,for a Caesarian delivery,in the first place.

It's back to the drawing board,on this ''148'' total cipher,for me.

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 01:20:10 pm

I place more relevance on the entirety of the four quadrants, linked possible through the Fairfield letter, 340 cipher and Halloween card. However, he had the opportunity to write on the car door at Lake Berryessa because of the nature of his silent crime. Had he blasted away with a gun, would a message have existed on the car door. He did hang around at Presidio Heights tearing the shirt, but in the confines of the vehicle. He could have written on the taxicab door "by gun" but clearly chose the surprise route 2 days later. It's a difficult one Rubislaw. I expect the Fairfield, 340 and Halloween link I have suggested in recent articles will be scorned on by many, but the reality is I always question it myself, as pattern seeking is what we are accustomed to. It could very well be a coincidence, after all they are commonplace. The overuse of the word "solved" or "finally solved" attributed to many videos and presentations is not only patently incorrect in almost all cases, it is used as an elevation tool, to lift an individual above the mere mortals who have failed to recognize this find in 50 years. The day I claim any article I write is "solved", it will be. Unfortunately I doubt that day will ever come.
The 148 cipher, I believe was organized this way, as Zodiologists point out, because the author intended to incorporate the 208 characters beneath the cipher into his original cipher, but simply got frustrated or bored, hence the letter beginning with the code first.
If we rearrange the cipher into equal grids to create extra messages (and this is what the author did) this would tend to fly in the face of his impatience to complete the full 356 ciphertext. He would be creating an elaborate 'sideshow' and more work for himself, in direct contradiction to him appearing to give up on the full cipher.
Have you ever considered the "Bleeding Knife of Zodiac" letter and why the author places the knife in between the wording. Look how the "of Zodiac" is offset from "Knife". There remains a possibility that the message reads "The Bleeding (drawing- meaning knife) of Zodiac." And "Knife" written separately on the left of the page as confirmation of the key word on Bryan Hartnell's car door.
https://www.zodiacciphers.com/the-fairfield-letter.html

Reply

Richard

11/29/2018 01:32:23 pm

But certainly, the obvious nature of investigators arriving at Lake Berryessa and finding the victims, certainly didn't require Zodiac's "by knife" attribution to help them out. Stating the obvious would seem meaningless on the face of it, so clearly "by knife" on the car door had a deeper meaning to Zodiac. That is why I believe the Fairfield letter and in particular, the Halloween card, bore this out.

Indeed,at times it just seems a maze of probable solutions,and probably ''linked'' solutions.

If it is any help,over the whole ''knife'' phenomenon,I have always been intrigued,by the apparent ''blood pasting'',on the Benicia High School Note.Although,yet again,we are viewing a photocopy,with elements of ''fade'',the blood pasting,itself,resembles a knife blade.

''Guess Who Thiz Hiz Blood off ''

Somehow,I can never read or write that quote down,without bursting into ironic laughter.

Yes,with the ''148'',as a project,I think it might require some more work...I am looking at ''that'' third crucifix,having been cryptographically ''corrupted'',due,possibly,to a debate over the precise wording and/or official interpretation,in the ''final third'' of an original ''356/361'' cipher.

I suppose that,we can only try to put ''everything'' we find,on the table...then sort out the ''wood from the trees'' [?].

.....yes,and with the postscript,apparently upside down,on the Benicia High School Note,the ''blood pasting'' does really start to look like ''The Bleeding Knife'',as part of the Fairfield Dec 16th,offering.

This is all ''marvellous stuff'' for me,Richard,and thanks for pointing me,in a potentially ''telling'' direction with the ''148''.

I did a sort of ''preparatory'' re-start on it,last night....and already,some good pointers.

Zodiac,it seems to me,abandoned the cipher layout,when he got to 148 characters of a lay down.

Why ?

Apart from the discipline of it all,getting to him...he realised that,he had messed it up,from the start.

How ?

''Tis the Zodiac...'' is all ''Twee and Twilight''...and would never have been employed by Zodiac.

He would have started : ''This is the Zodiac...''.He had made this startling and basic error...and indeed,sarcastically rebuked himself,later....when he wrote ''Thiz hiz Blood off...'',in the Benicia High School Note [Autumn 1972].

And,not much of a stretch,really.Just figuring out the genuine ''unforced errors''.....and just ''love'' the ''Zodiac's peac king'' play....given that he launches into ''..why can't you stop me.I can't stop killing..''.

Just ''one pig in the poke''.What actually makes this ''total cipher'' different,from all the rest ?

Zodiac employs numbers....specifically 1,2 and 3.

One might note that....what makes the 1990 Celebrity Cipher unique ?

Answer : Zodiac employs the use of syntax...a single comma,to be precise.

Every cipher,has something different,it seems,that makes it unique,from the rest.

Now that I see the true layout,of what I perceive to be,Zodiac's twin ''340'' cipher solution,its amazing what becomes ''visual'',that was previously ''invisible''.

Running words that produce other words,that are,in effect ''subliminal'',is an experience,as I found with Scorpion's ciphers.And this to me,is further confirmation,that the ''148'' is genuine ''Zodiac''.

One ''exclusive'',before I uncover the solution,to its full potential :

....TIMESICANT....unveils ''MESICAN'',which is phonetically close to ''Mexican''.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Leave a Reply.

This website contains no advertisements. To help keep it running, any donations, however small, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Richard.